**Again, Evan doesn’t have a problem with Spencer and Eric being physical. He already knows. Read some of the previous chapters, and his only concern is that Spencer stay on the pill. Otherwise, he’s signed off on their relationship
“I never really believed Nate when he would talk about the whole increased libido thing. I just thought he was exaggerating.” Eric sighed. He was enjoying lying on the forest floor with his girlfriend. It was the first time he’d felt relaxed in a long time, what with all the problems with Julie as of late.
“It’s different for everyone. Natural born weres don’t get it as bad, I can tell you that much.” Spencer said, recalling her first shift. It happened a bit earlier than most, at eleven.
“Teenage hormones make a you do crazy things.” Eric replied, kissing Spencer’s neck.
“Speaking of crazy, have the police contacted you yet?” Spencer asked, her mind momentarily drifting to the subject of Julie.
“No. The sooner the better. I just want to get on with my life.” Eric said. He was done with Julie, and wanted nothing to do with her. Hopefully the trial would be quick, and that would be that.
“I hear you. And since we’re on the subject of the future, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Really?” Eric sat up, his ears perked forward in anticipation.
“My mom’s got a pride meeting at the end of the week. I don’t usually go, but since I’ve finally got someone to ‘play’ with I figured I might tag along.”
“Really? I thought they wouldn’t let you join since you’re only half feline?” Eric asked.
“I just don’t have any sort of official membership. Like the Skulk giving you and Nate honorary membership since your parents are both werefoxes. I’ve got that with both my father’s pack and mom’s pride.”
“So, am I in Frieda’s pride then?” Eric wondered if Frieda was in one to begin with.
From what he’d gathered from multiple readings of the town guidebook on weres, to the questions he’d asked in the immediate weeks following his family’s move to Moon Lake, all weres belonged to some sort of group. Whether it be a pack, pride, herd, or school.
“You’d have to ask her, since she’s the one who turned you. But my best guess would be no. She doesn’t want there parents to find out about us, which is fine, and I’d hazard a guess to say they’re her pride leaders. Especially given their importance in the community.” said Spencer.
Truthfully she was surprised she hadn’t realized Frieda was from THAT Knight family. She’d heard other panthers in her mom’s pride talk about them. Spencer just never made the connection. The only reason she and her mother weren’t a part of the Knight pride was because her aunt’s pride made an offer first.
“I hope Frieda’s ok. You don’t think her parents found out about us, do you?” Eric asked. The last thing he wanted to do was get anyone in further trouble. Bad enough Frieda and Spencer were caught up in the mess with Julie.
“I don’t know.” Spencer said. She got the feeling that even if Frieda’s parents didn’t know now, they would. The police would want to talk to her about the incidents surrounding Julie. The subject of Eric, the newest werepanther in Moon Lake, was bound to come up. And it wouldn’t take them too long to put 1 and 2 together.
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Meanwhile….
Frieda patiently waited for her parents in her bedroom. She was nervous for all the obvious reasons. Had they found out she was seeing Spencer and Eric? Were they finally going to ship her off to some prep school in England? Or worse, to her grandparents’ in Florida.
“Panthers do NOT do well in heat.” she thought. Frieda shifted on her bed as she heard her parents ascending the nearby staircase. She tried to make herself look as formal and dignified as possible. Her parents walked into her room wearing a suit and business skirt respectively.
“Mom, Dad,” Frieda addressed her parents like she was addressing the king and queen of Denmark. She even bowed a tiny bit.
“Sit down Frieda, we need to talk to you about something.” Benton Knight said. He towered over his daughter at 6’4’’. In his fursona, he was 11’5’’, almost double his normal height. Frieda was glad her father remained in his normal form. On occasion, he’d transform for dramatic effect.
“I got the strangest phone call today. You’ll never guess who it was.” Benton continued. Frieda gulped, and tried to cut the tension by guessing it was the President of Greece. Her father didn’t appreciate the sarcasm one bit.
“No, it was Douglas Cooper. Asking if you were home because Jack Johnson, the prosecutor for the Stovall case, wanted to speak with you and some boy named Eric. Now, I calmly asked him what the bloody hell he was talking about. To which he said,
‘Frieda was involved in an altercation with Julie Stovall the other day, along with a fellow student Eric Anderson. She will need to be called upon to testify for the prosecution, as she also witnessed an attempted Statue 1A attack.’ Would you care to explain yourself young lady?”
Unable to come up with a plausible lie, or an explanation that wouldn’t result in her being sent off to another country, Frieda kept her mouth shut. Benton’s frown deepened, and he demanded Frieda tell him what she had gotten herself mixed up in.
“I don’t know who this Eric Anderson is, but you’re sure as hell not going to see him again. Or Julie for that matter.” Benton huffed.
“You can’t do that!” Frieda exclaimed, leaping from her bed.
“Sit, down, NOW!” Benton said. Frieda did so, only out of fear. Her father wasn’t a violent or abusive man, but he did have quite a temper. And she also knew her mother wouldn’t stop him from striking Frieda if it came to that.
“This is NOT how we raised you Frieda. You have the entire Knight name to uphold. Your mother and I go away and expect you to behave yourself, and keep your nose clean. Now we return home to find you’re involved with a delinquent, and some random boy? What do you think this says to the other families in Moon Lake? Our daughter is…”
“Julie started that fight! I was only trying to help Eric defend himself. Otherwise Julie would have…” Frieda stopped herself before she revealed that she’d been the one who changed Eric before Julie could. That would most certainly earn her a one way ticket to the U.K.
“Julie would have what?” Amanda Knight spoke for the first time. Her voice was calmer than her husband’s, but her gaze held just as much fury.
“Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.” Frieda muttered.
“Yes it does. Until we get a straight answer out of you, you’re not to leave this house. I don’t care how much school you miss, we should have never let you go to public school to begin with. Unless you decide to tell us why you’re mixed up with these people, you’re grounded!” Benton said.
As much as she wanted to protest, Frieda kept her mouth shut. Her parents stormed out of her room, followed by a loud click, which signaled them locking her bedroom door. At least they hadn’t taken away her computer or cell phone. But she’d have to be careful about using them. She knew it wasn’t too much to think her parents would be monitoring what she did online, or offline.
But she had to warn Eric and Spencer. Her parents, more specifically her father, would stop at nothing to get as much dirt on the Andersons if he thought they were trouble. And based on that conversation, it was safe to say Benton Knight wasn’t a huge fan of Eric’s. He didn’t know the whole story, but that didn’t matter.
In his eyes, Eric was some troublemaker who’d dragged his incompetent daughter into his mess. Benton wasn’t below resorting to coercion and bribery to get what he wanted. He hadn’t reaffirmed his family’s place at the top of the power-chain by being “nice”.